YouTube to broadcast Hajj live

Muslims who could not physically go to Mecca (Saudi Arabia) for Hajj, the world's largest pilgrimage, can now at least take part in the event virtually.

Video-sharing site YouTube said the pilgrimage will be streamed live through the Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information's YouTube channel.

"The Hajj is an ancient ritual, but now, through the Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information's YouTube channel, millions of people from around the world will be able to experience and comment on the event by tuning in via video," Najeeb Jarrar, product marketing manager for Middle East and North Africa, and Abdulrahman Tarabzouni, regional manager for emerging Arabia, said in a blog post.

Hajj represents one of the five pillars of Islam, and requires all able-bodied Muslims around the world who can afford it to perform it once in their lifetime.

Jarrar and Tarabzouni said they worked with the Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information earlier this year to broadcast Islamic prayers live during Ramadan from the Holy Mosque in Mecca for the first time.

"In continued cooperation with the Ministry, we’re now able to live stream the Hajj on YouTube for the first time," they said. — TJD, GMA News

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